The Evolution of Us
by TheLadyMuse
Summary: From a graduated Ootsubo visiting his former sensei to an athlete grieving his lover, there are three distinct moments in their evolution that stick out. 2/3 posted
1. Worried

p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Masaaki isn't an old man. He isn't, really. Barely forty-one, but his second and third years were fussing over him. Okay, he'd fallen three days ago and fractured his ankle. That was no reason for Midorima to quibble about having his ankle wrapped properly, Takao to insist on carrying his things and Yuuya to assign a rotation of second years (they know him, at least a little, and they don't have university hovering over their heads just yet) to assist him at all hours of the school day. Someone meets Masaaki at his car every morning now, for crying out loud!/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Ignoring his befuddlement about why his more senior players are treating him like he's made of glass (and noping the fuck out of wondering what Yuuya meant when he said darkly "Ootsubo would kill me if you weren't taken care of.") it's nice that they care./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"And, of fucking course, his most recent graduates come to heckle their former juniors, only to zero in on Midorima crouched in front of Masaaki, rewrapping his ankle with sure hands. Takao is smacking a first year and reprimanding him for rabble-rousing while the Coach and Captain are busy. Yuuya actually is busy, talking with a few other second years about not slacking on their 'Coach-rotation'. Masaaki sighs, looking heavenward, flinching when Kimura, Ootsubo and the elder Miyaji all yell/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Coach Nakatani?!" Masaaki nearly groans. Yuuya and Takao, closer in height than the rest of the team, squirm to his sides, heaving him up and onto the crutches Midorima had picked up to hand to him. Bracing himself on them, Masaaki sighs, looking up and expecting pity from his former students (though his current seem only sympathetic and protective). Instead, he is met with sympathy from Miyaji and Kimura, and unadulterated horror from Ootsubo. Shifting his glasses, Midorima says carefully/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Just a fracture, captain. With rest and time, he'll be fine." Ootsubo nods automatically, swallowing and composing himself./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Right."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Shrugging that off, Nakatani focuses on his current players, unaware that Taisuke is studying him anxiously. Kimura and Miyaji hemming him in to keep him from bolting to the older man, pick him up and get him to sit down. Or something. Anything. Even knowing it's just a fracture and that the second and third years have obviously been fussing all along with how resigned Nakatani is, Taisuke wants to run his hands over his former coach's ankle, to know how in pain he actually is./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It should probably be disgusting, how much he loves this man./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"But then, it's not, really. Masaaki had been there more then his parents, had been the man he leaned on when he first took captaincy, seems virtually unchanged./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"And gods, but he wants more than this./p 


	2. All the stars in the sky

**That second moment.**

Rolling his eyes, Masaaki notes the kids gossiping about how many times he looks at his phone. Well, he really only does it because Taisuke is on the road with the NBA team he signed with a few years ago. Really, the only times they see each other are when Masaaki goes to the States over summer break (usually after the Shuutoku training camp) and when Taisuke comes home for the winter. Even then, their jobs mean plenty of time spent apart.

And much though he hates to admit it, Nakatani's not getting any younger. He just doesn't have the strength to top as much anymore, even if Taisuke still crumbles under his fingers fastest that way.

Either way, they don't communicate easily for most of the year, the most Masaaki can do is keep an eye on his phone and respond as quickly as possible. While he's gotten the message that he's stuck with Taisuke (until the younger man finds a greener pasture, but Masaaki doesn't like to think about that), he's still got a team to pull together.

However, today, before he even gets the chance to call over the current captain, the gym doors bang open and in walks Taisuke, a grumpy Midorima listening to Takao chirp at his elbow. The Miyaji brothers and Kimura are either shaking their heads or smirking at Nakatani. As the most public Shuutoku alum, Midorima instantly commands the attention of the Shuutoku kids spread around the gym. Except for a manager who keeps doing her work, the kids are distracted enough that Taisuke can slink around to Masaaki and smack a kiss on his cheek, murmuring

"Happy Birthday, Masa-chan." Curling an arm around Taisuke, Masaaki goes to say something, but the manager had heard the kiss, turned to see it, and shrieked. Everyone had whirled around, the old team wrinkling their noses or catcalling, the current one sputtering and gasping over a 'hot guy' putting moves on their coach.

Ishida Akira, for example, is just stunned that his coach _had _anyone to make moves on him. And it was fairly obvious that, for all his muscle, Ootsubo Taisuke actually did like the coach romantically. So that's who the coach had been texting!

Oshiro Tadahiko, however, was a little jealous. The old man had a young, strong lover who could probably lap him in the bedroom many times over! He stopped thinking, however, when Ootsubo said he was stealing their coach for the weekend, and they would put up with Midorima and the others running practice if they knew what was good for them. Nakatani huffed, a little tiredly, but Ootsubo just pulled him close, pressing a gentler kiss to his temple before pulling him out into the parking lot, where he snatched Masaaki's car keys and ushered him to the car.

They'd gotten into the shared apartment (that really only Masaaki lived in year round) and Taisuke was kissing him, gently, earnestly, the plea he wanted to make sticking to his tongue. Masaaki leaned in, sipping at his mouth for a moment, before Taisuke buried his fingers in his hair kissed him harder. They pulled away, Masaaki studying his lover, sighing before he murmured

"Ask. I know you want to." Swallowing, Taisuke pulled him in closer and murmured

"Retire, Masa-chan. Come to the States, we'll get married and I'll take care of you. I don't want to be separated for so long, I don't like you living alone." Masaaki sighed, muttering

"Taisuke…" Nuzzling into his throat, the younger man begged

"It'll be okay, Masa-chan. You can finally get some rest, so please, please think about it." Grudgingly, Masaaki agrees to think about it.

What Taisuke may or may not realize is this comes off as him thinking Masaaki is old and infirm. While far from the truth, it weighs on him. Masaaki honestly doesn't want to trouble his much younger lover, had planned to fade away when he could no longer keep up with him.

(Not that this would have worked. Taisuke has access to Momoi Satsuki and her network, knows how Masaaki thinks and feels most of the time. He'd have found Masaaki and blown up at him for believing his age made Taisuke love him any less)

In any case, as the season progresses and more and more of the stateside Shuutoku guys bug him to retire and join their little community, Masaaki gives it serious thought.


End file.
